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Presented by: VTB Bank, Custody

January 23, 2020 Issue No. 2019/02

Politics

Putin signs decree to appoint Mishustin as prime minister On January 16, 2020 it was announced that President signed a decree to appoint as ’s prime minister. The decree comes into force from the date of its signing. Earlier in the day, the , the parliament’s lower house, approved Mishustin’s candidacy for the post. Mishustin said he planned to focus on elimination of poverty.

Putin signs decree to appoint new Russian government On January 22, 2020 it was reported that President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to appoint the new Russian government. According to the decree, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will have nine deputies, including First Andrei Belousov, who previously served as a presidential aide. , , and will remain deputy prime ministers. The newcomers as deputy prime ministers are: Dmitry Grigorenko, who will also serve as chief of staff of the government, Alexei Overchuk, , , and Viktoria Abramchenko. Sergei Lavrov has retained his post of the Russian foreign minister in the new Russian government, according to the decree. Sergei Shoigu has retained the post of the country’s defense minister, has retained the post of the energy minister, has retained the post of the interior minister, while has retained the post of the industry and trade minister. has retained the post of the finance minister, losing the post of the first deputy prime minister. was appointed as the minister of economic development after resigning as the of the Perm Region. He replaced at the post. Among other ministers who retained their posts are Natural Resources and Environment Minister , Agriculture Minister , Far East Development Minister , Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh, Construction, Housing and Utilities Minister , and Emergency Situations Minister Yevgeny Zinichev. Sergei Kravtsov was appointed as the new education minister, as the culture minister, as the sports minister, Konstantin Chuichenko as the justice minister, as the science and higher education minister, former Vice President of Rostelecom Maksut Shadayev as the minister of digital development, communications and mass media, as the health minister, and as the minister of labor and social protection. Putin also signed a decree to liquidate the ministry for North Caucasus affairs transferring its functions to the Economic Development Ministry. In addition, according to the decree, the Federal State Property Management Agency will be now managed by the Finance Ministry instead of the Economic Development Ministry.

Company News

Russian insurer Sogaz raises charter capital to RUB 30 bln On January 17, 2020 it was reported that Russian insurer Sogaz raised capital to RUB 30 bln from RUB 25 bln. The decision to increase capital was made in September 2019. The company fulfilled all necessary procedures and the Federal Tax Service registered the changes in the corporate charter on December 31, 2019.

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Sistema sees no reason to cut stake in Detsky Mir On January 22, 2020 Vladimir Yevtushenkov, core owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russian multi-industry holding Sistema, stated that the company saw no reason for a further reduction of its stake in children goods retailer Detsky Mir. Detsky Mir carrier out an initial public offering (IPO) in February 2017 and a secondary public offering (SPO) in November 2019. After the SPO, Sistema owns 33.4% in the retailer, while the Russia– Investment Fund has 9%.

Delo Group not in negotiations to buy Russia’s FESCO On January 23, 2020 it was announced that Russia’s Delo Group was not in negotiations to buy Far-Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO). In December, Delo’s owner Sergei Shishkaryov told daily Kommersant that the company was interested in purchasing FESCO. Co-owner of FESCO Ziyavudin Magomedov said that he firmly opposed selling his 32.5% stake.

Lukoil abstains from fulfilling buyback plan on share growth On January 23, 2020 Vagit Alekperov, CEO of Russian oil producer Lukoil, said that the company was abstaining from fulfilling the buyback program because the shares were demonstrating quite a good growth. In October 2019, Lukoil announced a buyback program worth up to USD 3 bln that would be in force till December 30, 2022. The sum of the program is equivalent to 36.3 mln shares, or 5.1% of Lukoil’s charter capital, at a closing price of USD 82.74 per a global depositary receipt (GDR) representing a common share on the London Stock Exchange.

Dividends/coupons VTB plans to pay 50% of net profit in dividends for 2019 On January 21, 2020 Andrei Kostin, CEO of Russia’s second biggest lender VTB, said that the bank plans to pay 50% of the net profit of the group in dividends for 2019. Kostin also said that the sale of a stake in the bank was problematic because of the sanctions. He said that the bank had no plans to issue new shares. VTB paid RUB 26.8 bln, or 15% of the net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in dividends for 2018.

Novatek may consider higher dividends at end of second quarter On January 23, 2020 Leonid Mikhelson, CEO of Russian independent gas producer Novatek, said that the company might consider raising its dividends at the end of the second quarter. Under the current dividend policy, Novatek earmarks at least 30% of adjusted net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for dividends.

Eurobonds / DRs Etalon bids to list GDRs on Exchange On January 20, 2020 it was reported that Russian realty developer Etalon submitted a bid to include global depositary receipts (GDRs) in the Moscow Exchange’s tier 1 quotation list. Kirill Bagachenko, the company’s CFO, noted that thanks to the fact that a significant part of the securities, namely, 62%, were free float, the company also confirmed its intention to keep listed on the London Stock Exchange. Etalon expects the bid to be considered within a month.

Global Ports CEO Bychkov buys GDRs in company for USD 363,451 On January 20, 2020 it was announced that CEO of Russian container terminal operator Global Ports Vladimir Bychkov bought 98,230 global depositary receipt (GDR) in the company for USD 363.451. The deal was struck on January 16. In December, the official acquired 137,000 GDRs for USD 440,100.

Sovcombank eyes road show of perpetual Eurobonds from January 24, 2020 On January 22, 2020 a banking source said that Russia’s Sovcombank plans to hold a road show of perpetual subordinated dollar-denominated Eurobonds from January 24. Meetings with investors are planned in Moscow, Dubai, New York and European cities. J.P. Morgan, Alfa-Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, Gazprombank, Renaissance Capital, Sberbank CIB, and VTB Capital will act as organizers.

Credit Bank of Moscow to place USD 600 mln Eurobonds On January 22, 2020 a banking source stated that Credit Bank of Moscow set the placement amount of 5- year Eurobonds at USD 600 mln. Investors’ bids exceeded USD 1.6 bln. The yield rate is 4.7% annually. The initial yield guidance amounted to 5.00–5.25% annually. The bank held meetings with investors on possible placement of the issue from January 15 until January 21. Citi, ING, Societe Generale, UBS, Commerzbank, Emirates NBD Capital, Raiffeisen Bank International and Sova Capital are the organizers.

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Alfa-Bank sets final guidance for 5-year Eurobonds at 6.8% On January 23, 2020 a banking source said that Russia’s private bank Alfa-Bank set the final yield guidance for 5-year ruble-denominated Eurobonds at around 6.8%. Demand topped RUB 23.5 bln. Bids are collected on January 23. The initial yield guidance was set at 7%. On January 22, the bank held a conference call with global investors and a number of individual phone talks with investors ahead of a possible Eurobond offering.

Please be advised that the information presented in this newsletter is based on the following sources: National Settlement Depository (NSD); Clearstream Banking; Euroclear Bank; PRIME-TASS information agency; “Kommersant”, "Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, “Izvestiya, "Vedomosti”, “The Moscow Times“ newspapers, and others.

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